Chris Catanach Wins USMC / AVCA National Coach of the Year

LEXINGTON, Ky. - (November 28, 2018) – The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) is proud to announce that University of Tampa Head Women's Volleyball Coach Chris Catanach has been selected the 2018 USMC/AVCA Division II National Coach of the Year, and Lauren Ramatowski of Washburn University has been named the AVCA Division II National Assistant Coach of the Year. These two will also be honored at the Jostens Coaches Honors Luncheon on December 13th in conjunction with the AVCA Convention in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Head Coach of the Year – Chris Catanach, University of Tampa

Assistant Coach of the Year – Lauren Ramatowski, Washburn University

CHRIS CATANACH FAST FACTS

• In his 35th season leading the Spartans
• Sports a 1,070-200 career record with Tampa
• Owns a 30-4 record entering the NCAA Quarterfinals where his team earned the No. 1 seed
• Tampa won their 18th NCAA Regional Title this season, and their first since 2014
• Won the AVCA Region Coach of the Year for the 17th time
• Tampa's .882 win-loss percentage places them 10th in Division II
• Catanach took home the Sunshine State Conference's Co-Coach of the Year
• Began the season unranked in the AVCA Coaches Poll, but ascended to as high as No. 4 on October 22nd
• This marks his fourth national coach of the year award (1991, 2006, 2014, 2018)

LAUREN RAMATOWSKI FAST FACTS

• First season with the Ichabods
• Leads small group discussions with the team approximately every two weeks to ensure team chemistry
• Assists with "Bods Care," which is when the team reads to elementary school students
• Helped lead Washburn to their first NCAA Regional Championship since 2007 (32-4 record)